Town Services Contract

When the Possum Van gets towed yet again, the lodge tries to end this by bidding on the town's towing contract, only to get more than it bargains for.

Cast (in order of Appearance):, , , , , , , , ,

Segments: The Possum Lodge Word Game, Red's Campfire Songs, Handyman Corner, Red's Sage Advice, New Member Night, Adventures With Bill, The Experts

DVD: Red Green: Stuffed and Mounted, Vol. 4; The Red Green Show – 1998 Season

Watch the episode on YouTube

DVD Commentary by Steve Smith
STEVE SMITH: We occasionally like to try new segments in the show just to keep it fresh and just to try to keep the actors coming back to work. And so in this show, was a new segment we were trying called "New Member", where one of the existing guys at the lodge, in this case, it's Dalton, would try to sponsor a new member to come and join the lodge. And what we would do is, 'cause we're so cheap, we'd just take somebody right out of our studio audience and stand the guy there and make a fool of him for a couple minutes. We figured, I mean, we'd have to be doing that to ourselves. 'Course, the difference was, we get paid for it. It didn't last too long, but it was fun while it did.

Segment Summary
Plot: After the Possum Van gets towed yet again, the lodge decides to put an end to it by bidding on the towing contract. They succeed, but they don't just get the towing contract, they also get all the town services, such as the snowplow and fire and medical services. Almost immediately, the lodge starts getting emergency phone calls. The men of the lodge eventually figure out how to get the emergency vehicles: they would use their own vehicles (i.e., the Possum Van as an ambulance, Winston's sewage truck as a fire truck, etc.). The lodge then receives one call from a woman who is pregnant and about to give birth, so Red and Harold go to help her, and it's a success. But Red and Harold soon decide, with the town council's assistance, to cancel the service contract.

Opening Scene: Red shows an easy way to make cutoff shorts out of work pants.

The Possum Lodge Word Game: Ranger Gord tries to guess the word "forest" to win a pair of Chinese finger cuffs.

Red's Campfire Song: Wishing on a sun.

Handyman Corner: Red turns a car into a total workout gym.

Red's Sage Advice: What to do when you get unusual soap as a present.

New Member Night: Dalton brings in a new member, Sid Larson, who runs a weigh station in Port Asbestos and is a tightwad. Dalton wants him to become his daughter's new boyfriend.

Adventures With Bill: Bill goes searching for wild honey.

The Experts: Mike explains how to protect a home from intruders.

Explanations

 * Mike's discussion about what his Friday father told him spoofs the ethic of reciprocity, commonly known as the Golden Rule, which is expressed as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
 * "The King James Version" of the Bible refers to the Authorized King James Version thereof.

Real-World References

 * Mike's closing line, "Don't leave home without it," is a slogan for American Express.

Famous People

 * During The Experts, Red mentions Jesse James, who was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank and train robber, murderer and the leader of the James-Younger Gang.
 * Mike claims that his Friday dad was a member of a judas priest tribute band. He was most likely referring to the actual band Judas Priest.
 * Near the end, Red calls Harold Dr. Strangeglove.